On a night when every rebound felt heavier and every possession felt bigger, Cornell turned Newman Arena into a cauldron of chaos, outlasting Colgate in a breathtaking double-overtime finish on Thursday.
The Red scraped past Colgate, 95-94, a one-point survival that sent students spilling into the aisles, pounding the bleachers and screaming themselves hoarse as the final buzzer sounded.
The Red (3-2, 0-0 Ivy) entered the night riding a two-game win streak and left with what may stand as the emotional peak of November basketball. Colgate (2-4, 0-0 Patriot), long a model of discipline and perimeter firepower, pushed back at every turn. But Cornell matched them blow for blow and moment for moment.
Cornell opened the night with early rhythm from senior guard Cooper Noard, junior guard Jacob Beccles and senior guard Adam Hinton, but Colgate responded in classic fashion, carving out a 41-37 halftime lead behind sharp interior scoring and timely threes. What followed was a game defined by swings, long runs and the kind of momentum shifts that made everyone in the building feel the weight of every possession.
One of the first key moments came from Hinton. Midway through the second half, he caught a drop-off pass in transition and detonated at the rim for a two-handed dunk that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
“I just saw my team in front of me,” Hinton said. “I saw a wide open lane, I called for it, he dropped it off and…the rest is history.”
Every time Cornell surged, Colgate had an answer. With under 12 seconds left in regulation, the Raiders led 75-72 after a go-ahead layup. Newman Arena fell silent for about three seconds.
Noard raced up the right wing, rose through contact and buried a contested three with 3.7 seconds remaining. Students in the upper rows jumped so hard the bleachers rattled with chants echoing out into the hallway.
Colgate’s last-second heave missed, sending the game into a first overtime that turned into a tactical brawl. Senior guard Josh Baldwin hit two clutch free throws after being fouled with 11.6 seconds left. Noard stayed steady, hitting two more at the line to knot the score at 79-79. Each possession carried the weight of the game. Each whistle felt seismic.
Still, the teams could not be separated. With the scoreboard reading 83-83, a second overtime became inevitable.
Double overtime produced its own chaos. Noard opened with a bucket. Colgate responded with a layup, and Beccles answered with a finish inside. Noard added two more free throws after the Raiders committed their 10th team foul, stretching Cornell’s edge to 91-88. Baldwin then swatted a Colgate attempt at the rim with 1:33 left, causing the loudest defensive eruption of the night.
But chaos swung both ways. With 13.9 seconds remaining and Cornell up 91-92, senior guard Jake Fiegen attempted an inbounds pass and threw the ball off an opponent, leading to a Colgate steal and immediate conversion. The Raiders took a 94-91 lead that silenced the crowd in disbelief.
Cornell turned to Hinton again. He sliced into the lane and dropped in a clutch runner with six seconds left. Cornell fouled intentionally, sending Colgate’s Andrew Alekseyenko to the line for a one-and-one. He missed, and suddenly, the ball found the hands of the Red’s hottest shooter of the night.
Noard raced up the sideline and rose for a three with 2.5 seconds left. The shot missed, but a whistle blew, a foul. Newman Arena froze.
Noard stepped to the line, down one, needing two. He missed the first. The crowd groaned, then fell silent. He hit the second. The noise returned. He hit the third. The arena erupted. Cornell 95, Colgate 94.
The Raiders got one last look, a half-court heave from Jalen Cox that hit back iron and spun away, before hundreds of voices drowned the gym in celebration.
Noard finished with 27 points, Hinton added 15, and Fiegen returned from injury to score 14 points with eight rebounds. Baldwin delivered his most impactful performance of the year with seven points, five boards, three blocks and two steals off the bench. Beccles added seven points, six rebounds, five assists and was a team-high +14 in 35 minutes.
Afterward, as players hugged family, friends and little kids cascading down the bleachers, Hinton summed up the win simply:
“We have what it takes to play the game when we're down five with a minute left,” Hinton said.
Cornell will look to extend its electric three-game win streak when it hosts Misericordia at 12 p.m. Wednesday at Newman Arena. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Sureya Lopez is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the sports department and can be reached at slopez@cornellsun.com.
